1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an iontophoretic power supply, and, more particularly to an iontophoretic power supply that includes many parameters which are user programmable and which is capable of recording data pertaining to the supply of electrical current, voltage, and power, therefrom.
2. Background Art
Iontophoretic power supplies have been known in the art. Such power supplies are used to provide the necessary electrical force to transfer ions across a medium. Generally, such systems are associated with a primary electrode, a return electrode and a pharmaceutical component which is placed into the primary electrode. The technology is based on the principle that an electrical potential will cause ions in solution to migrate according to their electrical charge.
There are basically three different types of iontophoretic power supplies, namely (1) the miniature integrated iontophoretic power supply, (2) the portable iontophoretic power supply and (3) the benchtop laboratory iontophoretic power supply. Each of these power supplies is configured for operation in association with a particular iontophoretic electrode assembly device and at particular operating parameters.xe2x80x94Currently it is both time consuming and expensive to design, assemble, test, and validate new types of iontophoretic power supplies, be it for research devices, prototypes, or new product development. Typically the time required is measured in months.
As such, it would be an object of the invention to provide a power supply, which includes a plurality of user definable and settable parameters, to, in turn, emulate a plurality of different power supplies. This power supply can be reconfigured, tested, and validated, for example to provide a new functional prototype, within one hour""s time. This provides an invaluable tool for scientific researchers conducting iontophoretic experiments, because such researchers cannot effort the time required to develop a new iontophoretic power supply, nor may they have personnel required to design or modify power supplies. This also provides an invaluable tool for the engineers and technicians responsible for prototyping new iontophoretic power supplies.
It is another object of the invention to provide a power supply that is capable of periodically collecting data pertaining to operating parameters that can then be transferred to a computer for analysis.
These and other objects will become apparent in light of the specification and claims appended hereto.
The invention comprises an iontophoretic power supply. The power supply includes both hardware and software. The hardware includes means for interfacing with an external output device, means for interfacing with an external communication device, means for interfacing with sensors, microprocessor means and a computer readable medium. The term xe2x80x9cmicroprocessingxe2x80x9d, used herein, still imply electronic state machine processing. The microprocessing means may be facilitated with a microprocessor, microcontroller, FPGA, ASIC, or the like. The term xe2x80x9csoftwarexe2x80x9d, used herein, shall mean programmed machine code instructions, be it soft code, firm code, or the like. The software is recorded on the computer readable medium and executable by the microprocessor means. The software is capable of performing the steps of facilitating the providing of at least one operating parameter by a user; and applying the provided operating parameters to an interfaced iontophoretic electrode assembly device.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the iontophoretic electrode assembly device (or external output device) interfacing means comprises a pair of leads which are associatable with opposing electrodes (i.e., anode and cathode) of an iontophoretic electrode assembly device.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one operating parameter comprises at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of: voltage limit, steady state current magnitude, current polarity, ramp-up rate, ramp-down rate, number of cycles and number of sequences.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the software further performs the step of storing data gathered during the step of applying the provided operating parameters to the external output device. In one such preferred embodiment of the invention, the hardware further includes means for communicating with an external communication device. In turn, the software further performs the step of transmitting the stored data gathered during the step of applying the provided parameters to an external communication device.
In another such preferred embodiment of the invention, the hardware further includes at least one sensor. The software further performs the step of storing data pertaining to the sensor during the step of applying the provided operating parameters to the external communication device.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hardware further includes means for communicating with an external communication device. In such an embodiment, the step of facilitating the entry of at least one operating parameter by a user further comprises the step of transferring at least one operating parameter from an external communication device to the power supply through the communicating means.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one operating parameter comprises a plurality of operating parameters.
The invention further comprises a method of emulating an iontophoretic power supply to supply an iontophoretic treatment via an iontophoretic electrode assembly device. The method comprising the steps of providing at least one operating parameter to the power supply, and, applying the provided operating parameters to the iontophoretic electrode assembly device to execute a treatment.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the step of providing further comprises at least one of the steps of providing a voltage limit, providing a steady state current magnitude, providing a current polarity, then providing a current ramp-up rate, then a current ramp-down rate, providing a number of cycles, and providing a number of sequences.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the step of providing further comprises the step of communicating with an external communication device and receiving at least one operating parameter from the external communication device.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises the step of providing data pertaining to the treatment to a user via a display associated with the power supply.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises the step of storing data pertaining to the treatment. In one such embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of communicating with an external communication device and transferring stored data to the external communication device.
Preferably, the method includes the steps of associating at least one sensor to the power supply and storing data pertaining to the at least one sensor. In one such embodiment, the method further includes the steps of communicating with an external communication device and transferring stored data pertaining to the at least one sensor to the external communication device.